Walking the Capital Ring - Section 4 and 5

London, UK

Thursday, April 14th 2016, 09:19 BST

We found ourselves walking another few sections of the Capital Ring last weekend. We picked up some lunch to eat on the train at Victoria and traveled to Crystal Palace to start. The weather looked reasonable, but some light rain was forecasted for later in the day.

Section 4

The first kilometer of the section was nearly fully up hill. Luckily, that meant that there were some pretty good views towards the West from Westow Park. Although we were pretty sweaty by this point. You can also see the results of this exertion back in the higher average heart rate for this section.

From there on, after a steep(er) hill down into Biggin Wood we quickly came up to Norwood Grove with its stately home. We admired the gardens, a blue plaque, and got slightly lost due to confusing signs. Apparently dogs are not allowed near the house. From Norwood Grove, we gently descended again around The Rookery, a formal garden, where we had a quick stop, before continuing across Streatham Common. After half a mile, we already found ourselves at the end of the hilliest section near Streatham Common station.

Section 5

We didn't stop for a break, but continued our walk by going under some railway tracks and found ourselves staring at the pretty Streatham Pumping Station. We had a snack, and continued along to get to Tooting Bec Common. There were plenty of other walkers and runners about, and many people seemed to be playing some sportsbal on the pitches. We made a slight "detour" to checkout the Balham Boxing Club (really we went the wrong way) and came out of the Common to walk among the residential areas of Tooting and Balham.

Only a short while later we came to another common: Wandsworth Common. Perhaps not as large as Tooting Bec Common, but certainly as pleasant. Less pleasant were the few drops of rain failing on our heads. The rain didn't set in properly just yet, and we continued past Wandsworth Prison and the massive Wandsworth Cemetery. At the end of the cemetery lies Earlsfield. Unfortunately, the rain became more intense here, and we were happy to have our rain coats with us. Then again, walking in the UK without one is rather silly.

After Earlsfield town centre we walked along Mount Road, where I stayed with a classmate at a guest family for a few days all the way when I was in high school. We found that the official route got blocked by a (new) private playground at Durnsford Road Recreation Ground and took a (tiny) detour. After a short walk up the hill, we arrived at Wimbledon Park station to conclude section 5.